Dr Dee: English National Opera

Originally the Sadler's Wells Opera, formed at the turn of the century by Lilian Baylis, the company was renamed the English National Opera in 1974. The ENO was the first British opera company to tour the United States (1984) and the first major foreign opera company to tour the former Soviet Union (1990). In 1992, the company acquired the freehold to the London Coliseum, and after a four-year restoration programme moved into its new home in 2004.